I was up early, keen to get on and work on the Astro. I was hoping to have her all ready for the grand reveal tomorrow for hew new owner. Before breakfast, I’d done an oil and filter change and managed to change the top radiator hose without making too much of a mess. The rest of the family were up and having breakfast so I joined them after getting most of the grease off my hands. Only a short break then I was back at it, this time working on the inside. I pulled the car out of the garage and started emptying everything out from the back and laying it all on the ground. There were four piles forming: stuff that will stay with the Astro, stuff I’m taking back to Australia with me and stuff going to a new owner and rubbish. The rubbish pile was bigger than I expected and after putting all my climbing and camping gear into my hiking pack, I was nervous that there was already too much in the “taking home” pile but I would have to deal with that later.
Soon enough, the Astro was empty. When Derek offered me lunch, I was surprised that time had gone so quickly so I didn’t stop for long. I used the vacuum to clean the carpet before I started putting anything back in. Since the vacuum kept turning off thanks to overheating, I did other things waiting for it to come back to life. I cleaned the fridge and all the milk crates and stacked them neatly back inside with a few pantry bits and pieces for the new owners.
Another round of vacuuming but it was really getting hot now so that didn’t last too long. Now I got to washing the outside of the car which was almost too hot for me too. I wasn’t looking forward to this bit. I hadn’t touched the outside of the Astro with so much as a rag or a sponge since leaving the Bay area so I knew the dirt was going to be part of the paintwork. I hosed and scrubbed, hosed and scrubbed, then really scrubbed. She was a dirty girl. I was over it by the time I got to the front and all the bugs so was glad to be finished. Standing back, I got my reward, she looked like a completely different car.
I finally finished the vacuum and since it was now past 5pm and I was starving hungry, the packing up seemed to take longer than it had too. My hungry brain wasn’t equipped to deal with the decision making at this late hour so it took me a good while to clear the garage floor of Astro things. In the end, everything was cleared away and I tucked her back into the garage.
I joined the others inside just as Kylie had started making dinner. As I started relaxing on the couch, I got a message from Kaila asking if I was interested in going to a pool party where the fight between MacGregor, the MMA fighter and Mayweather, an undefeated boxer would be on. Dan had told me all about this first time ever super welterweight bout between two different champions and I’d written off going to see it anywhere because I wasn’t that interested, but when an opportunity presents itself, what can you do! After a yummy dinner of rice stir fry, I said goodbye to the family and drove out to meet Kaila.
We met at the Tesla factory which was a little eerie. I parked near the gate because I didn’t want to get to close to the front door and I sat reminiscing as I waited for Kaila to meet me. When she pulled up, she hurried inside to get some paperwork, then came back out and we both jumped in her car to head to the party. We stopped on the way to drop off some kegs that she’d rented and I was lucky to run into a guy I used to work with on drive unit. Alan and his wife walked right past me so I got to have a quick catch up with him. The Bay is such a small town.
Kegs sorted, we continued on our way. As we approached Christian’s house, we could hear the music and managed to find a park on the crowded street. Inside, the music was blaring and people were milling about drinking and chatting (more like yelling) to each other. Christian greeted us and walked us through the house. It was a nice place and was absolutely packed with people that had been drinking since 2pm in the afternoon so I think we were the only sober ones there. I ran into plenty of Tesla people and they were all surprised to see me there. Strangely enough, it sounded like nothing much had changed since I left.
We milled about the party for the next hour until the time of the fight came around and everyone arranged themselves inside the small living room infront of the huge TV. I was lucky to get myself a seat on the floor while dozens of people were standing at the back. There were yells to turn the music down and eventually we could hear the commentator’s voices coming through the speakers. I wouldn’t say a hush went over the crowd, but everyone started paying attention. The build-up was how you’d expect for such a once-in-a-lifetime fight. Finally all the pre-amble was over and the bell rung for the first round.
It seemed like pathetic sparring to me, but apparently it is normal in the first three rounds for the two boxers to get used to each other. A few bigger blows were landed in the next few rounds and the pair seemed to evenly matched, on a points basis anyway. Rounds 7, 8 & 9, you could see that MacGregor, the obvious underdog in the fight, was getting tired. Every time the ref got between them to separate the fighters, he would look up at the clock to see how much longer he had to resist. It was cool to see the fighters taunt each other with Mayweather smiling a lot and MacGregor poking his tongue out in return. In the 10th round, MacGregor was almost stumbling around the ring as his opponent pushed him around. With a quiet “I’m out!” by MacGregor, the fight was suddenly over. No knock outs, no fight until the end, MacGregor simply yielded to his opponent and after months and months of build-up and money making, it was all done.
Everyone in the room was disappointed and the shouts went up in volume. Oh well! The music went back on instantly and everyone picked up where they left off. Me and Kaila were both done so we said our goodbyes and exited out the front door to the dwindling sound of bass thumping. We drove back to the Tesla factory where we went our separate ways again. Another good last minute plan.
I drove home without incident and met Derek and Kylie in the dining room. I told them they hadn’t missed much, not that they’d been interested in the fight since they were sensible people. I bid them goodnight and retreated to my pen.